Chapter 2
Pain is the 2nd chapter of the manga Black Joke. Characters *Mika *Kiyoshi Kira *Douji Kodama *Kensuke Todome *Kin Summary At Onsen Hotel and Casino, a young female croupier stops a roulette wheel, resulting in the gambler winning. The woman exclaims rather loudly that she must have made a mistake, which the gambler and his friends hear and begin harassing her over trying to cheat them. Kira steps in to stop the altercation and give the men their winnings, inviting them to come back again. After the men leave, Kira invites the croupier, named Mika, out on a dinner date, which she accepts. Later, Kodama asks Kira who the girl is, to which he replies that she's been working at the casino for three months. Kodama continues to inquire why Onsen only seems to hire inexperienced croupiers. Kira explains that if they hired experienced ones, there is a hire chance of the gamblers becoming suspicious of cheating in favor of the casino, resulting in them either refusing to come back, or by worst case scenario, suing Onsen. Kodama takes in this information, admitting he thought it was only because their boss had a thing for younger women. On their date, Mika thanks Kira for standing up for her. Kira states nonchalantly that he was doing his job as the casino's manager. The two begin to flirt, and Kira leans in for a kiss, only for Mika to stop him, saying that they were getting too close too fast. Kira apologizes and grabs an apple from nearby, offering to show Mika a trick. He briefly cites the story of Adam and Eve, who ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden and angered God by doing so. He laments that it is sad that the first two humans were punished only for gaining knowledge, but states that since then it has been certain that humans would be rotten. He uses himself as an example of said rottenness, as he attempted to kiss an innocent young girl. Mika laughs at Kira's long buildup to a self-deprecating joke, and he begins to show his trick. Kira whips out a knife and cuts the skin off the apple with extreme grace. He thinks about how the apple, whose "true face" is hidden by the skin, represents the mysteriousness of women. Kira is explaining to his boss that he sees more in Mika than he lets on. Back at the casino, Mika is mocking Onsen in thought over how easy they were to infiltrate and ruin, as they only check for cheating customers, but not for cheating staff, making it very easy for her to cheat in favor of her accomplices in their stead. However, noting that making the house lose too much money would be suspected, she makes sure to cheat other customers in favor of the house, so they still end the day with a profit. She notes that the entire setup is in place while they wait for a richer than most customer, allowing her and her associates to take off with all the winnings in the end. Kira appears at the roulette table and introduces Mika to Director Kin, who he states is not only wealthy, but very generous when it comes to leaving tips. Mika takes the opportunity to unfold her plan on the director, occasionally letting him win, but in the end causing him to leave with less money then he came with. Later in the day, Kira apologizes to Mika for his attempt to kiss her. The two begin to flirt again and end up arranging another dinner date. At the time they planned on, Mika shows up wearing a sable fur coat, which Kira first mistakes for fox fur. In the elevator, Kira begins to reveal to Mika everything he knows about her and her associates' plot. The first thing he notes is that when she touched his lip to stop him from kissing her, the tip of her finger was rough, a common trait among more experienced croupiers. Secondly, he notes how she seemed to be able to control the roulette ball all to easily for someone so inexperienced. As the two step off the elevator, Kira holds the handle of a door, and mentions Mika's sable coat. He opens the door to reveal Kodama pummeling Mika's cohorts as he states that there's no way she should have been able to afford the coat on her salary. Kira, watching Kodama in action, states how even the Russian mafia comes to Neon Island to try and exploit the casinos. He then asks Mika if her coat is Russian made, while Kodama tells him that the men he was beating up were yelling in Russian. Kodama looks down on the man he just beat up, realizing that he killed them all. Kira states that it isn't a problem, since Mika is still alive. While Mika begs to be spared, Kira goes back to his explanation of Adam and Eve, lamenting that it's sad for someone to lose their innocence by gaining wisdom. Mika pulls out a gun and fires at Kira, only to have Kodama shove his fist inside her hear, killing her as well. Kira berates Kodama for not leaving any of them alive for information. Kira sighs and says that he thinks his heart's a little wounded, confusing Kodama, who saw Mika's bullets hit his leg. Kira then yells at Kodama to shut up. Navigation Category:Chapters Category:Volume 1